Data centre debate heats up ahead of US midterms - here's what you need to know

Data centre debate heats up ahead of US midterms - here's what you need to know Until a few years ago many of us may have been blissfully unaware of what a data centre was. They are at the heart of the AI boom, housing the advanced computer chips and servers needed to run services like ChatGPT and Claude. But the speed at which they're growing, the enormous amount of electricity they consume and concerns about their environmental impact are fuelling a public backlash around the world. In the US, they've become a huge issue ahead of the midterm elections on 3 November, with both Republicans and opposition Democrats coming out against their development. It's putting opponents of data centre expansion on a collision course with US President Donald Trump, who has dismissed the pushback as a sick conspiracy, even as public anger grows.